She Keeps Me Warm
by Rockingham
Summary: Skye and Bailey go on a hot chocolate date to get away from election drama.


"Can I ask you a question?"

Skye raises her eyebrow at the girl sitting across from her. Bailey had asked if Skye wanted to go out with her after school to avoid the car ride with Casey and Rory again. The two were sitting in a pretty empty little cafe within a short walking distance from the school, sipping on hot chocolate and chatting.

"Will it incriminate me?" Skye asks fighting the little smirk as Bailey pouts at her for a moment.

"No, I'm just curious about something." Bailey stated smiling when she catches Skye's smirk over the rim of her mug.

"Ok,"

"So, are you one of those people who hate Valentine's Day or, since your secretly a romantic, you like it?"

Skye stares for a few seconds.

"Eh."

"Eh?" Bailey repeats with a highly confused look. Skye figures she should explain.

"I don't hate it, and while I could rant to you about it being a mostly commercial holiday, I think you'd know me well enough to know I'm not above a few sappy romantic gestures." Skye ends with a little smile as Bailey smiles brightly back at her.

"I kinda figured you say something like that." Bailey hummed as she sipped her cocoa. "I kinda wish it was in the Spring though."

"Why?"

"Because then we could go on a picnic date!" Bailey offered excitedly, "We could go to the park and I could bright Frosty!"

"Well I guess if you're offering to bring the dog, it does sound like fun." Skye smiles as Bailey rolls her eyes at her playfully. In the time that Bailey and Skye had been dating, Bailey was quick to learn Skye loved animals. From feeding the little mouse at the abandon shack to stray cats on the weekend, to the one time she found Skye on the beach tossing starfish back into after being beached. The girl had a soft spot for anything furry or otherwise.

Animals seemed to like her as well. Frosty loved Skye. Always jumping at her feed and giving her puppy-dog smiles whenever Skye brought him treats (which was almost all the time) to playing fetch with his favorite toys.

Bailey swears her dog loves Skye almost as much as he loves her.

Bailey had asked her once why she didn't have a pet if she loved animals so much, her only response was that her parents didn't like anything that could bring joy to children…in other words, her parents had forbade animals from the house because Brian was allergic.

Skye admitted that when she was little she wanted a cat. She thought because cats were good at self-managing that she could convince her parents to get one, but Brian's allergies were worse with cats then dogs, which may have been why Skye leaned towards a cat. Instant defense against her brother.

"I'm sure you and Frosty would have a wonderful time together." Bailey teased, "Don't let me get in your way."

"Aw, you mean it?"

"You're so mean!" Bailey pouted for a second before a smile broke through, "You're supposed to console the girl you're leaving for her dog."

"It's OK Bailey, I still like you, even if you don't bring the ball back as quickly as Frosty does." Skye offers with a mischievous grin. Bailey snorted, amused by the other girl's lighthearted teasing.

"Aw, I like you too, even if you can't throw it very far."

"Ouch." Skye laughed, "And you say I'm mean?"

"Please, you might have everyone else fooled, but I know all your secrets, Skye Crandall." Bailey leaned over the table a bit with a smile, nudging Skye's foot with her own under the table."You want people to think your the intense brooding type. But I know how sweet you are."

"Gross."

"Says the girl who somehow got flowers in my locker after a really stressful school day." Bailey says softer with a smile, "I know it was you by the way. Before you try to deny it, Sydney ratted you out."

"…dammit." Skye blushed as she realized she couldn't brush off the act of kindness. Bailey had a very stressful day of school with the election pulling her in so many different directions, so Skye had wanted to do something nice for her, so she snuck flowers into her locker to surprise her at the end of the day. Bailey smile was a mile wide the entire ride home.

"Thank you," Bailey said softly as Skye's head snaps up to her, "It was really sweet, and it did make me feel better."

Skye's never been used to taking credit for the things she did, but she was even less used to being thanked for them. A soft smile made it's way onto Skye's face as Bailey smiles wider, before her eyes widen.

"Oh! They're still alive too! I'm kinda surprised since I'm really bad at keeping flowers alive." Bailey added.

"…I'm going to make a mental note of that." Skye said quietly, "Next time, get girlfriend kill-proof flowers…like a cactus."

Skye's expecting a witty comeback and is a little surprised when Bailey is quiet. Skye looks up from her drink to see Bailey staring at her with stars in her eyes and the biggest smile on her face.

"Wha-"

"YOU SAID GIRLFRIEND!" Bailey squeals suddenly and Skye jumps before turning bright red.

"Why are you shouting?" Skye asks covering her face with her hands when she feels herself blush harder as people turn towards them.

"Sorry!" Bailey looked around the cafe seeing as she got the attention of some of the other occupants. After a few moments the onlookers seem to loose interest and go back to their own drinks and conversations. "I just got excited. You've…never called me that before."

"I…" Skye pulled her hands from her face, looking up at Bailey as her mind started to race. Was she not supposed to call Bailey that? Should…Should she have asked first before calling her that out of the blue?

Bailey must see her mind racing because the other girl stands up and leans over the table to place a kiss against the redhead's lips. Bailey's lips are warm against her own and Skye can taste the chocolate from her drink. After a few moments Bailey pulls back, brushing her nose against Skye's as she pulls away.

"I'm…actually really happy about it." Bailey whispers as she stays close, her breath dancing across Skye's face. Bailey smiles as she raises her hand to brush red hair out of Skye's face.

Bailey pulls away almost bluntly after hearing a mom not-so-subtly say something about "hormonal teenagers." A blush flashes across her face as she sits back down, hands moving to her mug to give them something to do. Skye mourns the loss of warmth for a moment before resting her chin on her hand, giving Bailey a calculating look.

"You know," Skye started as she thought, "The park might be too cold now for a picnic, but we can always take Frosty to the park for a walk."

Bailey's smile widened.

"We can build snowmen!"

"As long as you don't-"

"Do you wanna build a snowman?"

"Oh god,"

"Come on let's go and play."

"Bailey-" Skye shook her head as the girl looked at her with a grin. "Ugh, you're lucky I like you, dork."

"I like you too, nerd."


End file.
